October Is Cybersecurity Awareness Month: 20 Cybersafety Tips, Advice For Nigerians

 

The United States of America designates every October as ‘’National Cyber Security Awareness Month’’ (NCAM). Initiated in 2004, the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a collaboration between government —the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — and private industry — the National Cyber Security Alliance, and other partners. The National Cyber Security Awareness Month campaign is aimed at raising awareness about the importance of cybersecurity (safeguarding digital information) and to increase resiliency in the event of an incident. The United States President, Mr. Donald J. Trump proclaimed the October 2017 National Cybersecurity Awareness Month a while ago at the White House. The National Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign is now a global call to action. Canada, Europe and other countries have joined the fray. Africa, nay, Nigeria must take a cue.

Cybersecurity Awareness: 21 Best Practices To Forestall ‘’WannaCry’’ Ransomware, Cyberattacks

Introduction: A unique strain of ransomware known as ‘’WannaCry’’or ‘’Wanna DeCryptor’’, ‘’wcry’’, infected more than 300,000 vulnerable systems globally, across 150 countries since Friday, 12 May, 2017.  WannaCry installs Doublepulsar - a backdoor that allows the device to be remotely controlled. The malware freezes the infected device, pops up a red screen with the message, "Oops, your files have been encrypted!" It goes ahead to demand ransom payment in Bitcoin (equivalent to $300-$600) before subsequently destroying the encrypted files if payment is not made. To offer an insight on the consequences of the WannaCry ransomware attack, the Chinese state media says about 29,372 institutions was infected along with hundreds of thousands of devices. In Japan, 2,000 computers at 600 locations were reportedly affected. The ‘’WannaCry’’ransomware attack also denied access to confidential patient information, stalled x-rays, surgeries and other critical healthcare services in at least 47 hospitals under the auspices of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS). The list goes on. Envisage a Stuxnet cyberattack on a vulnerable nuclear warhead or submarine. Tragedy!

Why Cybersecurity In The Workplace Is Everybody's Business

Malicious hackers and cybercriminals can often count on complacency and lack of awareness as their partners in crime. Fortunately, the month of October brings an opportunity for potential targets to reboot their attitudes about cybersecurity.